


Dumbledore's Army and the Ambrosius Chalice

by SethSelwyn



Series: Dumbledore's Army Reborn [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26098372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SethSelwyn/pseuds/SethSelwyn
Summary: Learning magic is difficult enough without having to worry about preventing another Wizarding War. All Seth has ever wanted was to go to Hogwarts, make friends, and rise to the top of his class. But when he and his best friend Jordyn overhear a whispered conversation about the return of Lord Voldemort, all ability to focus on his studies goes out the window faster than a Peruvian Vipertooth.The Dark Forces have barely survived since You-Know-Who was defeated, but now they're stirring once again. Someone at Hogwarts is on the hunt for an artefact hidden within Hogwarts that is rumoured to have the power to resurrect the Dark Lord. Not knowing who they can trust, it's up to a small band of students to prevent the Ambrosius Chalice from falling into the wrong hands. But with mysterious clues, dodgy teachers, and bothersome classmates, will they be able to find it in time?
Series: Dumbledore's Army Reborn [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894861
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1—Bruinrook House

CHAPTER 1 -- Bruinrook House

Nothing interesting had ever happened within the walls of room 3B of Pueblo Palido Elementary until Mrs. Fredricks introduced the “new kid”. In fact, the entire town of Brackett was rather unexceptional before the Selwyn family arrived. The most exciting event that anyone remembered was the “Great Sheep Stampede of ‘76,” which, suffice it to say, only consisted of half a dozen sheep anyway. But it was the only thing besides tumbleweeds to blow through the dusty streets of the tiny town in over thirty years.

So, when the only family of foreigners to ever set foot in Brackett decided to make the town their new home, the news spread like wildfire. It sparked in room 3B of Brackett’s only school, in the shouting whispers of the 13 seven-year-olds that had recently moved up to the second grade. Not long after the last bell, it was carried by foot and over telephone wires to every single house, store, stable, and field within a 15-mile radius. The next day, the middle- and high-schoolers even managed to bring it to the nearby city of Harte, where it was a hot topic as well.

At first, the Selwyns were the object of attention simply because they were new, which they didn’t mind too terribly. Some of the neighbors, trying to be friendly, even offered to help them move into their new house on Lillick Lane. The Selwyns thanked them kindly but refused the offer, saying that they had already finished it all. (“My goodness!” exclaimed Patty Mae Lewis from down the street. “I didn’t see the moving truck come or go!”)

But after only a week and half, some of the neighbors started to get a bit too nosy. Why did the family move such a long way, and to a desert town so small that it didn’t even show up on the map? Were they running from something? The government? Why didn’t they ever let anyone into their house? What did Mr. Selwyn do for work? Why wouldn’t they get rid of that owl that obviously made a nest in their attic? And why did they all act so odd and secretive? What exactly were they hiding?

And the strange looks never stopped. Instead, they got worse, as weirder and weirder things began to happen around the family – the worst of which at school. The first incident that caused a commotion was when the older of the two failed his first test. The paper suddenly caught fire, setting off the emergency sprinklers overhead. The entire class had to escape the flooding room, but not until Mrs. Fredricks and every single student were soaked from head to toe.

One fateful day, the youngest Selwyn tried to cover a black eye as he reentered his class after recess. Ms. Daniel caught him and sent him to the nurse. Then, she realized that the school bully didn’t come back into class at all. She left her class snickering to search for him. After several minutes, she found him hiding underneath the slide, covered in warts that oozed smelly green goop. 

And there were many more strange occurrences throughout the time that the two boys were in their small school. Years of mocking sneers, scared whispers, and ridiculing laughter piled up upon each other. Eventually, there was a final laugh from a student within room 3B, and immediately, thousands of cockroaches and crickets began to spill out of every desk in the school except the two that just happened to belong to the Selwyn boys.

None of the members of the family ever made a single friend in Brackett. They were all too strange, too abnormal. And the truth was, the Selwyn family was keeping an enormous secret from the rest of the world: they were wizards.

Actually, Mrs. Selwyn, being a woman, was technically considered a witch, which was rather ironic considering that it was one of the nastily-spoken “insults” thrown around about her occasionally. But regardless of the terms used, all of the members of the family were able to practice magic. They all wore pointed hats and cloaks, they all rode broomsticks in the dead of night, and they all brewed potions in the kitchen together as a family activity. The only difference between them all was that only the parents were legally allowed to own wands and cast spells -- the children weren’t old enough yet.

Their magic was their secret that they weren’t allowed to reveal. The non-magical people wouldn’t understand them. In fact, they’d be afraid of them. Even without truly knowing the secret, even only seeing the little evidences of the family’s special abilities, the citizens of Brackett felt just that towards them: fear, apprehension, and hostility. And they stayed far, far away from them all.

That’s why Seth was perfectly content when his father told him that they were going to move back to England. The two weeks of waiting felt like an eternity before they could finally make the journey back to their own country. But they made it. At last, Seth found himself staring up at the stone face of the enormous mansion that would be his new home: Bruinrook House.

"We're going to live _here_?" Seth asked incredulously.

Dad rapped four times on the weathered door with the large iron knocker. Seth didn't realize that there was no keyhole until one appeared, and Dad pulled out the enormous keychain he had gotten from the man in the train station at London.

The door creaked open. Asher clung tighter to Mum's arm, but Seth pulled forward.

The foyer, though aged, was grand. There was a black chandelier from which hung many cobwebs, but with a flick of Dad's wand, the cobwebs vanished and the candles sprung to life. There were arches on either side leading to more of the house, and a great staircase made of dark wood led up to where a banister lined the second level.

An eerie feeling hung in the air with the smell of dust and mold, but the electric feeling in his gut pulled Seth forward. He stepped on the fraying rug, leaving a footprint in the grime.

"It's filthy," Mum finally said.

"It's been years since anyone's been in here," Dad replied. "It's a fixer-upper, but we can get it looking good as new."

Mum sighed. "Yeah. Let's get these things inside – looks like rain."

"It's so big," Seth whispered.

"It's so _dark_ ," Asher mumbled as he helped Seth lug a heavy trunk through the door.

"Your room is the first one on the right," Dad told them, pointing upstairs.

By the time they let the trunk drop to the ground outside their bedroom door, Seth's arms were sore. Then he got a new burst of energy as he pushed the door open.

The room was wide and tall. The top of the four-poster bed almost reached the ceiling, and as soon as he stepped inside, the sconces on the wall and the candles on the dresser flickered to life. There were heavy drapes on the windows. Seth ran to them and threw them open, and a cloud of dust made him cough as he did.

Asher grunted behind him. " _Seth_ ," he whined as he struggled to drag the trunk in alone.

"Sorry, " Seth said as he picked up the other end. They let it crash to the floor just inside. Then, Seth was off again to look into the dresser where he found several mothballs and a dead Doxy, as well as a broken quill and dried-up ink bottle in the bottom drawer.

"How are we living here?" Asher asked. "It's huge!"

" _Why_ are we living here?" Seth replied. "That's the real question."

Suddenly, there was a scream from downstairs, followed by a shattering noise.

Dad yelled something, and Seth and Asher dashed back downstairs. Just as they reached the foyer, Dad ran past them. They followed close behind.

The three burst into the kitchen. Mum had her wand drawn and was advancing around the wooden counter upon which was a broken jar that used to be full of pickled vegetables.

"What happened?" Dad asked. 

"I Stunned it," Mum replied. "It jumped out at me when I – oh! It's a house-elf!"

"What?" Dad rushed around the counter too, and now Seth followed close behind. "Nilly?" Dad said.

"You know her?" asked Mum.

It was a small creature, far shorter than even Asher, with a head too large for its spindly legs and arms. Its eyes were currently closed, but they were obviously exaggeratedly large as well, and its ears were pointy and rather like a bat's. Its only article of clothing was a simple dress made of a silk curtain, tassels still attached.

"That's a house-elf?" Seth asked.

Mum ignored him. "You know her?" she repeated.

"Yeah," Dad replied. "I didn't know she was still alive. _Rennervate_."

Nilly stirred weakly as Dad’s spell worked in her. She blinked softly, confused, and then seeing the people around her, scrambled away squealing. She lifted her hand threateningly.

"Nilly, no!" Dad shouted.

She froze. Her eyes, already seeming bulbous, widened even more. "M-Master Joseph?" she stuttered in a very high-pitched voice. She began to lower her hand.

Dad started to smile. "Yes, it's me."

Nilly broke into a grin and stood abruptly, rushing to Dad to throw her arms around his stomach, squeaking excitedly. Then she pulled away sharply. She took several steps backwards, eyes lowered as if she was embarrassed.

"I is sorry, sir," she squeaked.

"It's alright, Nilly," Dad said kindly.

"Nilly has missed Master Joseph very much," Nilly replied, still keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. "Nilly did not think that she would ever see him again, sir! Nilly thought that Master Joseph is–"

Dad interrupted her. "Nilly, that's enough. It's alright, I'm here now."

She finally dared to look up. "Yes!" She was smiling widely again. But then, the smile vanished. "Oh, but Nilly has not been a good elf. She has not taken care of her master's house." She suddenly looked as if she was about to cry. "Look at this mess! No, this will not do. It is my job to keep the house clean, and I has not done that. I has left when my master passed and now it is so very dirty! For Master Joseph to come back to it in this state… Nilly has been a bad elf, a very bad elf…"

Dad began to move towards her to hug her. "No, no, Nilly it's alright, you can't have known I'd come back."

Seth suddenly realized it. "Dad… you used to live here?"

Dad was patting Nilly's back as she sobbed into his shoulder muttering "a bad elf, a bad elf…". He turned to Mum. They shared a look that Seth didn't understand.

"This is my parents' manor," he stated. "I haven't been here in a very long time."

Seth's eyebrows knitted together. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Dad said nothing, so Mum answered: "Now's not the time for that conversation."

"So, what, you inherited it?" Seth tried.

"Yes," Dad replied. Then he held Nilly at arm's length. "Nilly, how long has it been since you were here last?"

Nilly sniffled and blew her nose into her curtain dress. "Three years. I has left right after my master– after he–"

"Passed away," Dad finished. Nilly nodded shortly and began sobbing noisily again. "Hey, that's okay, that's what you should've done. You couldn't stay here. Nilly, please, stop it." Nilly immediately inhaled sharply and held her breath. "Why did you come back?"

Now Nilly looked at Mum. "Nilly is still loyal to her family, sir. My master asked me to protect the house, and when Master Joseph came back, Nilly thought it was in danger."

"But how'd you know that we were here?"

Nilly blinked. "Master Joseph and his family came in and Nilly knows it, sir."

Mum spoke up. "Nilly, did you put some kind of detection spell on the house?"

Nilly furrowed her brow. "I knows not how it works, ma'am, I just works the magic."

"It's been years since you left, Nilly. Have you found other work yet?"

Nilly suddenly became very still. She shook her head, but only barely.

"Why not?" Dad asked.

Nilly's eyes widened. "I– I cannot tell." Nilly shuddered.

Dad and Mum looked at each other again. Then, Mum put her hand on Seth's back and began to steer him away. "Seth, Asher, let's let your father speak to Nilly alone for a moment."

"Why?" Seth asked.

"C'mon, let's go." Before they knew it, they were out of the kitchen and climbing the stairs.

"But if Dad's parents lived here, why have we never been here before?" Seth asked quickly. "And why didn't you tell us that we were moving to his old house?"

"Seth," Mom said as she spun him around, "I promise that we'll answer all your questions one day. But not yet. You two need to unpack."

Seth knew it was no use arguing more. "When we finish can we explore?"

Mum hesitated, then said with a soft smile, "Yes, that's fine, but be careful. There are some very dangerous things in this house."

* * *

The next week was a mixture of unpacking, cleaning, and exploring. Seth couldn’t believe that this building was meant for just one family. It was one of the biggest buildings he had ever seen outside of the city, and absolutely filled with rooms of every kind. Seth found two sitting rooms, two studies, a library, a dining room, and at least five bedrooms in the house, some with more than one bed and each with their own bathroom, along with three more smaller bathrooms. And those were just the unlocked rooms.

Of course, being the house of a wizarding family, there were more unusual things in the house as well. There was what Seth’s father called the “trophy room,” which was filled with the stuffed bodies and heads of strange and often frightening-looking beasts. The conservatory was entirely overrun with plants and small bulbous creatures with long stingers (Seth slammed the door quickly on that room, as one tendril started to snake towards him the moment he peeked his head in). And in the kitchen, Seth found potatoes and wheat in various states of decay, as well as jars and vials full of ingredients meant for potions.

Seth also couldn’t believe just how _old_ everything was. The furniture, floors, and walls were all faded to the point that everything was coloured in different shades of black and grey. All of the rugs were fraying around the edges. The curtains were peppered with tiny rips and holes. Everything was shrouded by a thick layer of dust and mold. Though Bruinrook was quite obviously elegant and luxurious at one point, its age and abandonment had taken their toll.

It appeared that whatever Dad had said helped Nilly in some way: she only rarely cried as she aided the family in cleaning the house. Mum was very careful to warn Seth and Asher against abusing Nilly's help, but they soon found that she was more than willing to do anything that they didn't want to.

One day, Mum mentioned to Nilly that she didn't have to stay there, that they could free her. That seemed to upset Nilly in a very different way than she had been before – this time, she was offended. She quickly huffed away, muttering about “not having done nothing,” and Seth didn't understand why. When Dad got back from work, he told Mum behind closed doors (with Seth eavesdropping intently) that house-elves didn't like that kind of talk.

"They think that you're threatening them. They like to serve, at least when they're treated well," he said. "And despite their other flaws, my family never mistreated her."

In fact, Nilly was not the only thing about the manor that Seth didn't understand. He hadn't necessarily had much exposure to many parts of wizarding culture, and he was starting to realize that his parents were trying to protect him from things. Even one of the doors that had been open when he and Asher were looking around the first day was now locked, and they couldn't figure out how to open it.

But on the other hand, the mystery of it all was so exciting. He felt that he had barely scratched the surface of all that Bruinrook House hid, and there were still the grounds that he could investigate. And he had until the end of summer break to do it all. Even the nearing end of summer break itself was exciting: it was almost time for Seth to go to school.

Seth had listened to the stories of Hogwarts for his entire life. Despite every aspect of his life being filled with wands and cauldrons and broomsticks, he knew that Hogwarts was an especially magical place. For one, he could finally learn to control his powers, to direct them and make them do what he wanted, when he wanted it. Up to this point, his use of magic had been entirely accidental. But with a magic wand and other such tools, he could actually _use_ magic. And on September 1st, it would be his turn to begin that journey.

The letter came the second Tuesday at Bruinrook. Seth was sorting through the old cloaks in the closet, throwing the ones with holes in a trunk that was currently being used as a rubbish bin, when there was a _tap-tap-tap_ on the window of the nearby parlour. “SETH!” Asher’s voice suddenly sounded around the corner. “It’s here!”

Dropping the cloak in his hands, Seth ran to his brother, who was delightedly fiddling with the latch. Seth practically shoved Asher aside as he helped him undo it. They threw open the window, nearly hitting the large brown owl that was waiting patiently on the windowsill. The owl looked away from Hermod, the Selwyns’ own owl, as it shuffled to the side to dodge the window. Asher snatched the letter that it was holding in its beak, and the owl hooted irritably and flew away.

“Asher! That’s not yours!” Seth tried to grab the letter from Asher’s hand.

“I just want to see!” Asher complained as he pulled the envelope out of Seth’s reach.

“Give it here!”

“I just want to _see_!”

“It’s not your letter! Give it!”

“Just let me see it for-”

“Seth! Asher!” Mum stepped into the parlour. “Stop it _now_!”

“But he’s got my letter!”

“I just want to _see_ it!” Asher repeated a final time.

“Seth, please, just let him see it for a moment.”

“It’s not his!”

“Seth!”

“Mum!”

“SETH.”

That was clearly the end of the conversation. Seth huffed and threw himself on the sofa. “Fine!”

Asher hopped happily over to the chair next to Seth. Mum relaxed a bit, taking a seat on the arm of the sofa. Seth sulked.

“ _Mr. S. Selwyn, First Bedroom on the Right, Second Floor, Bruinrook House, Cumbria_.” There was a reverence in Asher’s voice as he read the envelope aloud. “Seth, they even know which bedroom is ours!” His fingers slipped under the flap.

“Don’t open it!” Seth shouted. He lunged for the letter again.

“Seth!”

“Mum! He was gonna open it!”

Mum sighed. “Asher, give him his letter please.”

Asher pouted and glared at Seth, but released his grip on the letter. Seth read the words written in deep green with his own eyes for the first time. He flipped the envelope over, running his thumb over the wax seal. Then, not being able to wait any longer, he popped the seal off. He removed the thin papers from within the envelope. Asher looked at him expectantly. Seth smiled, a nervous tingle in his stomach.

“Dear Mr. Selwyn–”

But before he could read any more, there was a flap of wings by the window as another owl landed. It was a different one this time, pure white, and carrying an envelope with a strange seal that Seth didn’t recognize.

“That’s for your father,” Mum said suddenly. She rushed to the window and took the letter. She read it and, feeling Seth and Asher stare, folded it and shoved it into her pocket. The owl hooted. “Could you two find something for her to eat?”

Asher started to head towards Hermod, who pecked at him irritably as he neared. Deciding against taking the dead mouse at Hermod’s feet, he instead picked up a moth from the floor and set it by the other owl’s feet. The owl looked at it in disgust, hooted again, and then took flight. “I think it’s gross too,” muttered Asher.

“Who’s the letter from?” Seth asked.

Mum started to walk away. “The Ministry.”

Seth’s brow furrowed. “The Ministry? Of Magic? Why did Dad get a letter from the Ministry?”

But Mum was already almost around the corner. “You need to finish sorting through those cloaks.”

“Can I read my letter first?” he called after her.

“Cloaks first,” she called back. “You’ll have time to read your letter when they’re done.”

Seth would’ve been angry, but he was too curious about what had just happened. As he grudgingly left his letter on the side table (“Don’t touch it,” he warned Asher) and returned to the cloak closet, thoughts danced through his head, all about the contents of Dad’s mystery letter.

* * *

The cloak closet was a lot deeper than it seemed, but finally Seth neared the end. The pile of cloaks in the entryway grew bit by bit, spilling out of the trunk. Seth was so deep in the closet that he almost didn’t hear the _pop_ like a gunshot when it sounded outside. Moments later, a dozen footsteps clicked up the stone drive.

Seth pushed his way out. Mum suddenly appeared from the kitchen doorway with Asher, dragonhide gloves filthy with muck. A look that Seth didn’t recognize was pulling at the corners of her mouth.

“Seth, Asher, go upstairs please,” she commanded while staring at the door.

“Who’s here?” Seth asked.

“Upstairs.”

“Why?” he tried again.

Mum finally broke her gaze from the door to frown at Seth. “Never you mind. Now would be a good chance to go read your letter.” Her tone was kind, but stern.

Seth began to protest again when there was a rap on the door. At the same time, green flames roared in the parlour’s fireplace and Dad stepped onto the hearth. Mum looked to Dad and said urgently, “They just got here.”

“Boys, go to your room please,” Dad echoed.

Sensing the seriousness in their hushed tones, Seth finally obeyed. He rushed to his letter, nearly running into Dad, and then bolted up the stairs with Asher close behind.

The two entered their room and the door shut behind them without them touching it. Asher looked like Seth felt.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Seth replied.

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know!”

Asher looked distant for a minute, then glimpsed the letter clutched in Seth’s hand. He pointed and said, “Open it!”

The events happening below still loomed at the back of Seth's mind, but he knew that Asher wouldn't give up until he read it.

And of course, Seth wanted to read it too.

He tore the parchment out of the envelope as he sat on the edge of the bed. He unfolded the papers and stared once again at the emerald writing of the first.

> _Dear Mr. Selwyn,  
>  We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
>  Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.  
>  Yours truly,  
>  Filius Flitwick  
>  Deputy Headmaster_

By now, Asher was crouched down on the bed behind Seth, staring over his shoulder and reading the letter with Seth. Both were grinning from ear to ear. Seth flipped to the list of supplies and studied it quickly. His heart pounded with excitement. Before, Hogwarts was a story told by Mum and Dad to put the two to sleep, as if it wasn’t real. But here was the evidence that it existed, there in Seth’s hands. He would really be going!

“Hogwarts…” Asher’s breathy words tickled Seth’s ear. “You’re really going to Hogwarts…” Both of them beamed.

They studied the letter for several silent minutes more, but their attention was drawn back with a slam of the front door. Asher jumped, startled.

Seth rushed to the window and, drawing the curtain back just enough to see outside, watched as several people walked down the stone stairs away from the house. Most of them were wearing black, in varying combinations of wizarding and Muggle clothing, but two were wearing official-looking navy blue robes and silver badges. These people were clearly from the Ministry. Seth remembered the letter sent to his father that afternoon.

Dad himself was talking with a final man with on the steps, whose hair was as dark as Dad’s, but far more unkempt. The wizard was putting on his cloak as Dad’s voice floated up to Seth, but was muffled through the thick window panes. The unknown man’s reply was equally unintelligible. Dad unfolded his arms and the two shook hands. Then, the man joined the others and one by one, they disappeared into the night with a _pop_.

Seth let the curtain drop as footsteps came up the stairs inside. The bedroom door opened, and Mum poked her head into the room. She was smiling, but she looked distracted.

“Hey,” she said. “Did you read your letter?”

Seth’s eyes narrowed momentarily as he debated asking again who the people were, but he decided against it. “Yeah!” he replied. “When can we go to Diagon Alley?”

Mum’s smile widened. “Dad and I have to go to Gringotts this week anyway. How about we go shopping for your birthday?”

“YES!” Asher answered for Seth.

Mum laughed. “Okay! It’s settled! We’ll go Tuesday morning! Asher, hey. Don’t jump on the bed, please.”

Asher stopped his happy dance, and Seth grinned.

The time had finally come.


	2. Chapter 2—Vault 726

Dad was the last to step out of the fireplace, and Seth still felt the room spinning beneath him.

They had taken the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron, and Seth wished he hadn’t eaten breakfast before doing so—his eggs almost ended up on the pub’s rickety wooden floor. He had experienced Floo-travel a total of three times in his life, today included, and he was not the biggest fan.

But all that was soon forgotten as Dad tapped his wand on the brick wall out back.

Never before had Seth seen so many witches and wizards in one place. Most wore cloaks and pointed hats of many colours, while others (particularly the younger ones) wore Muggle-style clothing. There was a great bustle as they all bounced between the equally-colourful shoppes that lined either side of the cobbled street.  
As they pushed through the crowd, Seth tried to catch glimpses of the buildings rushing by. There was one that was filled with animals of every shape and size, another that offered complex instruments made of every metal imaginable, and an entire shop dedicated only to selling quills.

And then, for the second time in two short weeks, Seth found himself staring up at the face of an enormous, unfamiliar building. The word “GRINGOTTS” glittered in the sun like gold. Each of the shoppes had its own eye-catching quirks, but none of the structures compared to the size and stature of the marble edifice he was now staring at.

“C’mon Seth!” Asher shouted.

He pulled his attention away from the bank and followed his family inside. While they walked through the enormous doors, the others walked ahead while Seth lingered. If the outside was something to marvel at, it was nothing compared to the inside. The white floors complimented the tall marble pillars, and the crystal chandeliers dangled from the high ceilings like gargantuan luminescent bats.

Seth peered through the bustling crowd, realizing he had lost his parents. He found them at the long counter talking to a wrinkly goblin. Asher too was absorbed in his surroundings. Seth rushed to him. Mum and Dad continued to talk to the goblin (“And your credentials from America?” the goblin accused in a raspy voice. “We can’t simply change Dragots to Galleons, you know…”), but Seth and Asher whispered quietly, pointing at the opulence of their environment.

One group of people caught Seth’s eye as he looked around. It was a family slightly larger the Selwyns’, with the two parents and three children. They were lingering by the entrance and goggling at everything, like Seth had done, but their eyes were filled with alarm rather than awe and amazement. The daughter, the youngest of them all, was clinging tightly to her father’s leg as she gaped at the nearest goblin. The only one who looked even mildly comfortable with any of it was the older son, who was about Seth’s age, but they all appeared too timid to move. Then, the boy caught Seth looking at them. Seth snapped his gaze away.  
Moments later, the boy was at Seth's side.

"Excuse me, could you help us?"

Seth looked over shyly. "Yeah," he said softly.

"We went to one of the shops to buy my books for school,” (Seth assumed that he must have been going to Hogwarts as well) “but the woman at the front said that they don’t accept… muddle money?” The last part was more of a question than a statement.

Seth looked at the boy's family again. The mother's frizzy hair was all he could see of her now as she was bent over trying to comfort her daughter, but the father was looking at Seth in a very austere way, as if he thought that an eleven-year-old child couldn't possibly help them.

“Oh, I get it.” Seth gave a nervous smile. “Your family are Muggles.” The boy was confused. “I mean, they aren’t wizards,” Seth explained.

The boy crossed his arms. “No. They’re not.”

“That’s alright, I can help you out.” Seth pointed to the nearest goblin. “The goblins run the bank. You just have to ask them to exchange your Muggle money for wizarding money.”

“Wizards have their own money?” the boy asked.

Seth chuckled tensely. “Yeah, of course!”

The boy was embarrassed again. “Why?”

“Because… Actually, I don’t know why. I guess just because we’re separate from Muggles.”

Just then, Seth heard his family calling his name. “Sorry, I gotta go. The goblins can help you more.” He ran further into the bank with a wave.

Seth followed another goblin, who introduced himself as Nagmark, to one of the hundreds of doors on the other side of the hall. The goblin opened the door with a bow, which revealed a stone tunnel with railroad tracks on the ground. Nagmark whistled as if calling a dog, and a silver cart barrelled down the tracks, screeching to a stop right in front of them. 

Nagmark and the Selwyns boarded the cart, slightly squished in the metal box. With a snap of Nagmark’s fingers, the cart jolted forward. The stone tunnel opened up into a series of caverns that appeared and were left behind in a blink. The cart was flying across the tracks like lightning, plunging deeper and deeper into the earth.  
Despite the speed of their journey, it felt like a lifetime of twists and turns. Seth buried his head in his knees to keep from vomiting. Once, Asher nudged him. He looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of an enormous creature—a dragon!—chained to the ground. Before he could wonder at it, it was gone. Finally, the cart halted.

Seth raised his head. Everything was dark except for torches on either side of countless iron doors. They were deep enough in the earth that the dampness was palpable.

“Vault 726!” Nagmark announced.

“Stay here,” Dad ordered. He and the goblin climbed out of the cart just as the tracks began to rumble below them. Suddenly, another cart appeared behind the one that the Selwyn family was in. This one was occupied by another goblin and two wizards more. They quickly disembarked as well and approached Dad, who shook hands with the men.

“Good morning,” Dad said curtly.

“Thanks for this, Mr. Selwyn.” This wizard Seth recognized; he was the same one that was speaking with Dad on the steps of Bruinrook several nights ago. Up close, Seth saw just how striking his green eyes were under his black hair. Before the man turned toward the vault, Seth glimpsed a fading scar on his forehead. “Know that you’re doing a lot of good by doing this.”

Despite the statement, Dad looked grim.

Nagmark stepped up to the iron door, closely followed by the rest. He put his hand on the door, which melted away like chocolate. When the door was gone, Seth saw into the vault and gasped. It was filled with treasure.

The most notable things in the vault were the mountains of gold, silver, and gems that went almost as high as the cave-like opening where the door had been. But there were also several other artefacts, such as a large cello-like instrument, a full suit of armour, a lit oil lamp, and several metallic masks that looked rather skull-like in the torchlight. Seth couldn’t believe his eyes, but there it all was, plainly there in front of him.

The two goblins entered the vault. As soon as they did so, a metal shelf full of books rattled violently. The goblins stopped dead. Every book but a strange black one tried to escape the shelf, seemingly to attack the intruders, but were held back by chains that held the doors of the shelf shut and chained to the floor. The goblins cautiously advanced. The shelf clanked harder but couldn’t move, so Nagmark approached a smaller pile of coins and shoveled some into a canvas bag. He returned to the cart and gave Mum the bag of gold.

“Here you are, ma’am.”

Mum took the bag and set it next to her. Seth, still in awe at the sight of so much money, assumed that this bag was for their shopping today. But was all of that money _theirs_?

Dad walked over to the cart, but instead of getting in, gave Mum a quick peck on the cheek, and then ruffled Seth and Asher’s hair with each hand. “I’ll see you all in the Cauldron.” Seth’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Hang on,” Nagmark warned as he jumped into the cart. He clapped, and with a rumble, a part of the stone wall at the side of the track fell away. More track unrolled from where it was hiding within the wall, sliding under the cart. He clapped again, and their cart rolled forward, following the new section of track to get around the other cart and reverse their course.

Seth buried his head again as they began to rise, but thought about the strange events that had just happened. Why did those other wizards come to their vault? And why did Dad stay with them?

Somehow, the trip up seemed shorter than down, and Seth soon found himself blinking in the sunlight. Once again, they were in the bustling crowd of Diagon Alley.  
As they worked their way through the list of supplies, Seth became more and more anxious to get to school. He didn’t want to let go of _A Standard Book of Spells_ , and practically threw on his cloak before it even finished hemming itself. Yet somehow, Asher seemed even more excited than Seth was himself. As they passed a little cart against which several broomsticks were laying, he reached out to touch one.

“Ah, excellent choice, my boy,” the cart’s owner said, making both Seth and Asher jump. “That’s a broom as good as any. Let me show you.”

The man hobbled towards them, but Mum stuck out her hand. “No, thank you, he’s not old enough for his own broom yet.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean you can’t buy it now and give it to him later,” the man tried.

Mum shook her head and started to push them away from the cart. “No, that’s alright.”

“Please, I insist. No model of Cleansweep can hold a candle to this type of custom quality!” He was trying to call this out to them, as they were getting very far away. “Our company is just starting out, so be the first to invest in Bristles & Bonds!”

Mum quickly ushered them into an apothecary, shutting the door quickly behind them. “You have to be careful about showing any interest with the street vendors,” she explained. “They won’t take no for an answer.”

Seth thought it was very cool that someone could make their own brooms, but he could see what Mum was saying. It was a lot safer going with well-established brands.

As he looked around the shop, he was surprised to find the family from the bank buying potion supplies just inside. They all seemed a bit more calm than they were before, despite the fact that they were currently watching the shop owner spoon slimy beetle eyes into a small bottle. They, like the Selwyns, were overloaded with books and things. The girl, nose wrinkled, was poking at a jar of what looked like pickled frog legs.

“Mum!” Seth exclaimed, pushing her arm. “They were in Gringotts! They’re Muggles.”

Mum swatted Seth’s hand, hissing “It’s not nice to point at people!” under her breath. Seth put his hand down, but as they watched the family look helplessly around the shop, he realized that once again, they didn’t know what to do.

This time, Mum led the way. “Hello, can I help you?” she asked as she approached them.

Once again, the family looked relieved, though the father eyed Mum’s pointed hat suspiciously. “Yes, please,” the mother sighed. “We’re looking for…” she checked the list, “... phials and a wand.” She turned to the man behind the counter, who was now corking the bottle he was holding. “He says he’s too busy to help us,” she half-whispered.

Mum looked at the children, lingering slightly longer on the one that Seth had talked to in Gringotts. “We’re looking for those things too. Hogwarts?” she addressed the boy. She put a hand behind Seth’s back and pushed him forward slightly. “Seth too.” Seth gave a small wave.

“They don’t have wands here, but the phials should be right over… there.” Mum had walked over to one of the shelves hidden in the back of the shop. “You can choose between glass or crystal. Glass costs less, but my husband wants Seth to have crystal. He swears it keeps contaminants out of your potions better.” Mum looked at the boy’s mother, who was now at her side, and said softly, “I honestly haven’t seen a difference, but he’s the potioneer, not me.”

“Thank you so much,” the woman said. “We’re the Hollidays. I’m Louise.”

“Belle,” Mum replied.

 _You forgot to ask his name_ , Seth scolded himself. He forced himself to look at the other boy. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself,” he said. “My name is Seth. Seth Selwyn.”

“Jordyn,” the boy replied. He began pointing to his family. “That’s my mum, my dad, Chris, and my sister Paige.”

“Nice to meet you,” Seth said.

“Same,” Jordyn returned. He looked at the nearest shelf, which was full of dried plants tied in bundles. “So… What’s it like?”

“What, Hogwarts?”

“I dunno. All of it,” he shrugged.

“The wizarding world?”

Jordyn’s dark eyes had a strange look that was almost hunger as he looked at Seth. “I guess so.”

The corners of Seth’s mouth turned up. “It’s amazing.”

And thus started the long conversation about the wizarding world. There were many strings of this conversation between each of the members of both families. The parents talked together as Mr. and Mrs. Holliday were bit by bit reassured that their son would be perfectly safe at Hogwarts despite all of the strange things they had seen so far. Asher and Chris had half a conversation—both were apparently very quiet around others, even more so than Seth. And Paige was adequately distracted by her surroundings that it didn’t matter that she had no one to talk to.

Seth, the nervousness slowly leaving his muscles, began to share all of the stories his parents had told him about Hogwarts. After Jordyn asked him why his accent was so strange, he also told about some of the few things from his experiences in America. Jordyn was captivated at it all. But Seth wanted to know more about Muggle life, which he knew very little about—particularly Muggle life in Britain. So Jordyn told stories as well, and Seth was equally fascinated with what he heard about open-heart surgery, soap operas, bullet trains, and Google.

The chatter continued as the Selwyn and Holliday families slurped down ice cream sundaes at Florean Fortescue’s. Just as Jordyn was getting to the climax of the plot of a “first-person shooter” game he had been playing (Seth listening in horror), Seth’s father walked up to their table.

“There you all are!” he exclaimed. The weight that had been on his shoulders before had obviously vanished now. “I see you’ve made some friends!”

Mr. Holliday stood abruptly, holding his hand out to Dad. “Marcus Holliday. Pleasure to meet you.”

Dad looked startled at the cordialness, but took his outstretched hand. “Joseph Selwyn, and likewise.”

“Could I talk to you for a moment, Mr. Selwyn?”

Dad’s confusion only grew. “Yes, but only if you call me Joseph.”

Seth’s eyebrows raised as he watched the two men walk away. He looked to Jordyn for an explanation.

Jordyn started prodding at the last scoop of ice cream with his spoon. “I don’t know how much my dad likes that I’m a wizard. He and my mum both thought it was going to be dangerous. I think your mum has helped with that part a bit, but that’s probably why my dad wants to talk to yours. To really make _sure_ I’ll be safe. Or something.”

Seth didn’t really understand and wanted to ask more, but before long Paige was crying because she had finished her ice cream. Jordyn handed her the last bit of his and Mum announced it was time to finish shopping. The mothers, who had bonded quite well over the shared experiences of raising young wizards and the hassle it causes whether or not one understands why the scary dog next door suddenly isn’t able to bark, decided that they would occupy the children together while Seth and Jordyn went to get their wands.

As they walked together down the cobbled street, Jordyn asked why a magic wand was so important. “You can’t use magic without a wand,” Seth responded.

“I was using magic before without one,” Jordyn pointed out.

“Yeah, but that’s different. You weren’t really using magic—more like the magic was using you.”

They bickered back and forth until they arrived. The small shop was tucked away in a corner of an offshoot of the Alley, almost hidden. Over the doorway, large letters that faded to the point of almost being unreadable announced that the building belonged to “Ollivander.” Seth stifled an exhilarated grin.

“All right, you two go in, and the rest of us are going to finish shopping,” Dad said. He and Mr. Holliday, whose apprehensive air had relaxed a bit into wariness, had been talking in hushed tones the entire way there.

Seth turned back to the shop. The door was cracked open, but all the same, Seth was afraid to enter. Jordyn, on the other hand, was not. He led the way, taking the first step inside with the jingling of a chime.

Seth had expected the shop to look more like a shop. He thought there would at least be a counter for the owner, perhaps with an ancient cash register like Flourish and Blotts’ had. But Ollivander’s looked more like a personal library than a public store.

There were shelves upon shelves stacked completely to the ceiling, all completely laden by long, thin boxes of many colours. Seth couldn’t see the back of the room, in part because of how dimly lit it was. The gas lamps overhead did very little to add to the weak light that streamed through the spotty windows. The only furniture in the room other than the shelves was a tiny wooden chair in the corner, upon which was a threadbare hat. The bustling noise outside hushed to a distant hum as a mystifying silence settled over the whole building.

“Hello?” Jordan called.

There was a faint shuffle somewhere in the back of the shop, and suddenly, a head appeared around the corner. The rest of the body that it belonged to quickly followed as a very old wizard limped towards them.

“Yes?” the wizard whispered. He truly was very ancient, with curly white hair and silvery blue eyes that looked simultaneously very tired and very alive. A single long scar nearly blended in among the deeply-etched wrinkles in his face. Seth knew that this must be Mr. Ollivander.

Jordyn cleared his throat. “We’re here to buy wands.”

The old man peered at Jordyn, who shrunk uncomfortably as he neared. “Yes… Of course you are. And, you are?”

Jordyn was flabbergasted, so Seth finally spoke up. “I’m Seth Selwyn.”

Ollivander immediately turned his head toward Seth. “Selwyn… Yes, my family has made many, many wands for yours throughout the years.”

Seth wanted to ask, “It has?” but was too afraid. Luckily, Ollivander answered the question anyway.

“Many wands indeed… Your father, Joseph.” _How did he know who Seth’s father was?_ “I sold him a wand of cypress, rather pliable. Yes, I was truly honoured to see that wand choose him.” Ollivander became distant as he squinted at Seth. “Truly, very honoured…”

He snapped out of his daze. “And your mother -- thirteen inches, poplar, with the heartstring taken from the cadaver of what I was told was a particularly defensive Hebridean Black.” Seth didn’t know how to respond.

All at once, Ollivander was turning circles around Jordyn. “And you, my boy. I don’t believe I know your family, do I?”

“No, you don’t,” Jordyn said shortly. “They’re not wizards.”

“Ah, yes, very good!” Ollivander continued his examination, now pulling a tape measure from somewhere in his robes. “I do love to see the beginning of a great line of sorcerers. And your name?”

Where Jordyn looked wary seconds before, he now looked pleased with himself. “Jordyn Holliday.”

“Very good.” The tape measure began twirling around Jordyn, measuring everything from his arms to the width of his nostrils, while Ollivander started doing an equally lively dance around the shop, pulling various boxes from the shelves. “Ollivander wands,” he explained at varying volumes, “are made from only the best of woods and cores. I have spent a great number of years studying wandlore, developing the perfect formula for a wand, and I believe I have found it.” He walked to the rickety chair in the corner, arms overflowing with boxes. “It is all in quality wood skillfully paired with a powerful core of unicorn, dragon, or phoenix. These three cores are superior to all others, in my own humble opinion, and it has been a very long time since I have worked with anything else.”

The tape measure had moved to Seth, and was measuring the crown of his head when Ollivander motioned him and Jordyn to the chair. “Now, who would like to go first?” His pale eyes darted between the two expectantly.

Jordyn immediately looked to Seth. “I know nothing about magic,” he offered.

Seth was about to protest, but Ollivander had already placed a wand in his hand.

“Willow and unicorn hair. Nine and a half inches, rather brittle. Go ahead and give it a wave.”

Seth obeyed. Nothing happened. This wand was replaced by another before his arm had even stopped moving. “Dogwood and dragon heartstring, twelve and three quarters inches, pleasantly supple.” Seth waved it, but this too was taken away. “No, not that… Try this one. Maple and phoenix feather, ten inches precisely, swishy.” Nothing.

And on and on it went for two dozen more wands. Ollivander skirted back back and forth from the chair to the shelves, bringing the wands out one at a time. Seth knew that one of them was supposed to make some kind of magical effect, but he didn’t know how long it would take.

After Seth tried a particularly long and heavy wand, Ollivander exclaimed happily, “No, not that one either! How very interesting!” Then, as if someone was whispering in his ear, he gazed into space again, head cocked to the side. He was silent for several breaths before saying, “Oh… Perhaps, at long last…”

Seth’s eyebrows furrowed. Ollivander dashed into the shadows and out of sight. There was the sound of a rolling ladder, a scuffle of wood against wood, and then he appeared again, carrying a very discoloured box. He blew a thick layer of dust from the top of the box and opened it. He presented the wand to Seth. “Try it.” It was a command more than a request.

Seth took the wand. It fit perfectly in his hand and tingled a little, as if he was holding a live wire. He lifted the wand and brought it in an arc towards the ground. Fiery sparks crackled from the end of the wand, jumping off the wall and floor.

Seth looked to Jordyn, who was beaming and clapping with delight. Then, he turned to Ollivander. The old wizard was smiling contentedly.

“Very good! Yes, yes, brilliant, well done!” Then, his eyes narrowed. “But why now?” he muttered. “After all these years…”

Seth didn’t have to ask what was in his mind. “What do you mean?” Jordyn questioned.

Ollivander glanced to Jordyn, and then held out his hand for the wand. Seth set it gingerly in his palm.

“I told you, Mr. Selwyn and Mr. Holliday, that it has been a very long time since I have worked with any core other than the Supreme Three I have chosen. I watched my father work with lesser cores at the request of customers who knew nothing about wands, and I swore to find and use only the best of the best.”

Ollivander inspected the wand, holding it carefully between his two long index fingers. “This wand was one of my earlier pieces, when I still had not settled upon dragon, phoenix, and unicorn. The Thunderbird tail feather within this wand was gifted to me by a very special man when we were both far younger than we are now.

“Normally, I would be far more cautious about pairing this core with such a volatile wood… But after trying and failing to force the feather into others, I felt drawn to place it within this particular casing, and the two bonded perfectly. Imagine, the restlessness of sycamore wood magnified by such a finicky core! It should have been an explosive combination…”

His attention now returned to Seth. “And yet it has waited here patiently for over sixty years, staying oddly peaceful. That is, I admit, one of the reasons I chose to discontinue my use of Thunderbird feathers; I assumed that it was simply acting up. It certainly contains the power to be a quality wand, but as it had never reacted to anyone, I left it in the back of my shop.” He said it like the wand was a misbehaving child. “And there it has stayed, never making so much as a peep until now.”

Seth felt uncomfortable as Ollivander surveyed him. “This is a highly unusual wand, Mr. Selwyn. I will be very interested to see where you go.” He returned the wand to him. “Very interested indeed.”

✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧

Not long after, the Hollidays and Selwyns were sitting at a table in the Leaky Cauldron, gnawing on the remnants of a delicious brisket. Chris had suddenly become very interested in Jordyn’s new wand (black walnut, unicorn hair, ten and three quarters inches, slightly yielding), but as Dad had warned him not to touch it, he was admiring it from afar. Suddenly, a witch was placing an enormous cake on the table in front of Seth.

“Wha-?” Seth began.

“Happy birthday!” the rest of them yelled. A grin spread across Seth’s face.

The witch lit the candles with a swish of her wand, then began to wave it like a baton, conducting everyone at the table (and several people scattered throughout the pub) as they sang. The singing was terrible—no one was on the same pitch besides Mum and Asher. But Seth grinned uncontrollably as his ears and cheeks burned with embarrassment.

When the last note died into applause, tiny fireworks began to fire from the candles, spelling out the number 11 in the air. Seth stood on his chair and blew out the flames.

“My birthday isn’t till tomorrow,” Seth told Dad as slices of cake were being passed around the table.

Dad chuckled. “If you don’t want the cake—”

“NO! That’s alright.”

The chuckle turned to roaring laughter from the whole table.

The cake was delicious, changing flavour with every bite, and was gone all too soon. Seth sat back in his chair, content. It was the best day-before-his-birthday that he’d ever had.

Jordyn sat back in his chair as well. “Seth, thanks for helping us out all day.”

“Of course! Besides, it’ll be nice to already have a friend at Hogwarts.”

“Yeah, it will!”

“Less than a month now!” Seth pointed out.

Jordyn smiled. “How can we communicate until then?”

Seth sat up. “Where do you live? I’ll send you an owl.”

“An owl?” Jordyn was puzzled again.

“Yeah, an owl. That’s how we send letters.” Seth kept forgetting how little Jordyn knew about his new world.

“But I don’t have an owl!”

Seth giggled. “I’ll send you a letter with the family owl, then you send a letter back with him.”

Jordyn agreed. Plans were made to keep in touch, and the two families said their goodbyes.

“Wait for us at the station?” Jordyn called as his mother pushed him towards the door. Seth gave him a thumbs-up, and Jordyn stepped out of the Cauldron and into the Muggle world.

“All ready?” Mum asked, holding the Floo powder jar. Seth sighed. As Seth looked through the open door at the brick wall that was now hiding Diagon Alley, returning to Bruinrook did not seem as fun as it had before (particularly traveling by Floo). But, tomorrow was Seth’s birthday. He’d had cake, but tomorrow it was time for presents.

“Yep,” he replied, and stepped into the fireplace.


	3. Chapter 3—Making Friends and Losing Them

“...on earth would be a Platform 9 ¾?”

Seth turned his head just in time to see Mrs. Holliday walking through the station. Jordyn closely followed pushing a trolley filled with his belongings.

“Jordyn!” Seth called, but they were already too far away to hear in the noisy station. “They just passed us!” he said to Mum. She put down her notebook and quickly stood.

Seth rushed after Jordyn and his mum, yelling to them. He pushed past a large group of young adults huddled close to their luggage. “Jordyn! Mrs. Holliday! JORDYN!”

Finally, Jordyn turned. His face broke into a smile and he waved. Seth beckoned him back, and the two families greeted each other warmly.

“Where’s Chris?” Asher asked timidly.

Jordyn looked at Mrs. Holliday as they began walking. "He had to stay home. We don’t know where the platform is. Do you?"

“No,” Seth admitted. “My mum’s leading the way.”

They followed the women through the crowd. They couldn’t talk due to the concentration it took to not hit anyone with their trolleys on their way through the throngs of people crisscrossing their way through the station. Finally, Mum stopped moving between platforms 9 and 10.

“We’re here,” she announced.

Jordyn looked at Seth in confusion, who shrugged in reply.

Mum stood back, motioning to the barrier between the two platforms. She addressed the Hollidays, but Seth paid very close attention as well. “Just go right there into the barrier,” she said. “You’ll go through it and onto the platform. Seth, you first.”

“What?” Jordyn whispered, his eyes narrowed.

Seth looked at the barrier. Even though Jordyn was unsure, Seth now understood. “I’ll wait for you on the other side,” he told Jordyn before wheeling his trolley around. He faced the ticket box and began to walk towards it. He walked faster, simultaneously nervous that his mother had gotten the place wrong and he’d crash, and scared that it was the entrance but the Muggles would see him go through.

Just before he reached the barrier, it dissolved like smoke and the scene changed. He was now walking through an iron gate with the words _Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters_ on it. A large platform spread out before him, filled with many, many people. He looked around to see a bright scarlet train waiting next to the platform and filling it with steam.

Seth quickly wheeled his cart to the side and watched the gate, beyond which was a brick wall very similar to the one he thought he was going to run into. There was no one there, and then there was. Jordyn appeared in the gate, hunched over his trolley. He opened his eyes and slowed his pace quickly. He saw Seth, and a look of relief spread across his face.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to stop being surprised,” he said. Seth smiled in agreement.

Mum appeared in the gate, followed by Asher, and then Mrs. Holliday, who was looking even more nervous than Jordyn had been.

“Come on! It’s nearly eleven!” Mum stressed, “You’ve got to get onto the train!”

Jordyn and Seth rolled their trolleys towards the Hogwarts Express. Owls screeched, and a black cat darted dangerously close to Seth’s cart. They reached the edge of the platform just as the train’s whistle sounded sharply.

Seth and Jordyn joined the other students hugging their parents goodbye.

“Are you sure you’ve got everything?” Mum asked as she held Seth close. “Your cauldron?”

“Yes, Mum.”

“Your wand?”

“Yeah.”

“Your quills?”

Seth began to push away from her. “Mum, don’t worry, I’ve got everything.” He stopped struggling to get away as she held him at arm’s length. Her brown eyes peered deeply into Seth’s own as she spoke to him very seriously.

“Seth, I need you to understand something. You are a wonderful, bright kid. Your father and I expect a lot out of you.”

Seth stared at his mother. “I know, Mum.” He smiled and hugged her.

“I love you, Seth.”

“I love you too.”

Seth hugged Asher goodbye as well. “I’ll see you at Christmas. I’ll make sure to write so I can tell you all about Hogwarts.”

Asher nodded vigorously. He looked like he was going to cry. Seth smiled sadly at the idea that his brother didn’t want him to leave, but he also knew that Asher was just as sad about not being able to go himself.

In a whirl, Seth found himself dragging his trunk alongside the Hogwarts Express. The train gave another long whistle. Jordyn grabbed Seth’s arm and started to pull him to a sliding door nearby as students rushed past, but Seth couldn’t lift his trunk through it. Suddenly, the trunk lifted an inch off the ground. Seth pushed it into the compartment, glancing at Mum, who was pointing her wand at the trunk with tears in her eyes. Seth helped Jordyn carry his own things into the train, and the two began waving a final time to their families as the train lurched forward.

The train left the station and rounded the corner, heading into the city. Seth could no longer see his family. He turned into the compartment as they picked up speed, once again dragging his trunk behind him. Jordyn was already struggling to lift his trunk onto the shelf overhead. Seth joined him, giving it the last little push it needed, and then they did the same with Seth’s.

They plopped onto the seat in a huff. Jordyn was looking at Seth, his eyes slightly wider than normal. “Well, here we are.”

Seth swallowed and smiled. “Yeah. Here we are.”

Jordyn stared out the window. “Does the train go right up to the school?”

“Probably not.” While Jordyn stared out the window to the outside, Seth looked in the opposite direction, through the small window in the compartment door. He watched students rushing by in both directions with hardly enough room to squeeze past.

There were owls hooting in cages atop stacks of trunks, and several people had already put on their pointed hats. A pretty young girl with silvery-blonde hair in a glittery pink shirt walked past accompanied by a boy with striking teal hair. One boy walked past with a cat perched on his shoulder like a parrot. Seth grinned. This is what Hogwarts was going to be like.

Bit by bit, things outside began to settle as people found their way to their friends. Seth joined Jordyn in staring out the window at the houses blurring by. Then, he turned as the compartment door slid open.

Two people were standing in the doorway. “Is anyone else sitting in here?” the boy asked.

Seth’s tongue was tied, but Jordyn told him 'no' quietly. The girl muttered thanks, and the two entered the compartment. Jordyn immediately sprung up to help the girl with her trunk, startling the colorful cat resting atop. Seth followed suit, taking the small grey owl in its cage from the boy’s trunk and resting it on the seat.

After stowing away their belongings, they all sat down. Seth’s leg began to bounce absentmindedly as he regarded the newcomers. The girl was holding the cat now, stroking it, her long hair covering part of her face. He looked at the boy, noticing that the two shared the same honey-coloured eyes and freckles splattered across their noses and cheeks. Then, Seth averted his gaze as the boy looked at him.

The awkward silence was broken as the boy introduced himself curtly. “My name is Donny. This is my twin sister, Aurora.”

“Jordyn.”

“I’m Seth.”

And that was the end of the conversation. Silence fell on the compartment again. Seth looked across at Jordyn, who was picking at something on the seat. Seth didn’t dare make eye contact with Donny or Aurora again, choosing instead to lean as far into the wall as possible and watch the fields and trees pass by.

The uncomfortable hush remained in the compartment for nearly an hour more, broken only by the occasional whisper between Donny and Aurora and restless yowls from the cat. At last, there was a soft knock on the door. A sweet-looking old lady rolled open their door, smiling kindly.

“Hello, dears. Anything off the trolley?”

It was at that moment that Seth remembered what his father had told him that morning before kissing him on the head and heading to work: “If you want to succeed at Hogwarts, Seth, you’ve got to make friends with everyone you can. Remember that. Make friends with everyone.”

And Seth knew exactly how to do just that.

“Yes please,” he told the woman.

Minutes later, there was a mountain of sweets on the table, and Seth’s pocket was considerably lighter. Seth took a Liquorice Wand for himself, then said softly, “Go ahead!”

“Are you sure?” Aurora asked, mouth gaping.

“Well, there’s way too much for just me,” he replied. He pushed a Chocolate Frog towards her.

Donny reached into the pile and brought out a stick of gum. Aurora took that as her cue to do the same, taking the Chocolate Frog that Seth had offered her.  
“I didn’t know you were rich,” Jordyn told Seth quietly.

“I’m not,” he protested, ears burning.

Donny interrupted. “Do you collect Chocolate Frog cards?” he asked. “Because I just got another Paracelcus.”

* * *

Hours later, the four were roaring with laughter as Seth spit out a particularly nasty manure-flavoured bean into a wrapper.

“The rules say you have to swallow it!” Jordyn giggled.

“I couldn’t!” he said in disgust, though he was out of breath with laughter too.

Donny was holding a Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans box upside down and shaking it. “That’s the last one. We’re officially out.”

Seth looked around at the compartment, suddenly realizing just how big of a mess it was. There were crumbs and wrappers strewn everywhere, and Aurora’s cat (Niamh) was gnawing on the remnants of a Tongue-Painting Gobstopper, which was painting the seat rather than Niamh’s tongue. Seth’s leg was bouncing uncontrollably from the sugar high he was now on.

Jordyn cleared his throat. “So, what House do you think you’ll be in?” He and Seth had discussed this the entire month by owl, and it was a heavy issue on both of their minds.

Donny answered immediately. “I’ll be in Hufflepuff,” he said in a rather haughty voice. “It’s the best House there is.” Seth and Jordyn exchanged a knowing look—Dad had told Seth that most of the other Houses made fun of the Hufflepuffs.

Aurora spoke up next. “I think it’s the best one too, and all our family has been in Hufflepuff for ages.” She turned her attention to Seth. “What about you, Seth?”

Seth had already thought long about it. “I’m not sure. My mum was in Ravenclaw, but my dad was in Slytherin.”

“What was the rest of your family?” Donny pressed.

“Well, my mum’s dad was a Ravenclaw too, but her mum was a Hufflepuff.”

“And your dad’s parents?”

Seth frowned. “I really don’t know.”

Donny raised an eyebrow. “How can you not know?”

Seth shrugged, shrinking in his seat. “I dunno. I guess I’ve just never asked.”

Before Donny could say anything else, Jordyn interrupted. “Why does it matter what House your family was in?”

Aurora interjected. “Technically it doesn’t, but you can usually tell what House you’ll be in that way.”

“What about me?” Jordyn asked. “My parents are both Muggles.”

Donny rolled his eyes. “Your case is different, clearly. You’ve heard about the Houses, I assume?” Jordyn nodded. “Which one do you _want_ to be in?”

Jordyn looked away. “All of them sound great. But I was thinking about Slytherin.”

Donny huffed through his nose. “That’s the only one you _can’t_ be in,” he stated brusquely.

Jordyn frowned at him, eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

Seth looked at Donny expectantly, seeing out of the corner of his eye Aurora doing the same. Donny looked at each of them, then back to Jordyn. He answered as if it was extremely obvious: “Because you’re Muggleborn.”

The air around Jordyn grew tense. The answer caught Seth off-guard as well. He had only heard the term in hushed conversations between his parents, and only when talking about the War. From what he gathered from the vague generalizations they had given him when he asked, Seth knew that some people were looked down upon by certain witches and wizards simply because they were born to Muggles—but Seth didn’t understand why.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jordyn asked accusingly.

Donny didn’t seem to have noticed that his comment bothered Jordyn. He continued carelessly, “Nothing, just that Muggleborns don’t get Sorted into Slytherin. You’ll probably be a Gryffindor.”

“You mean I’m not allowed into one of the Houses just because my parents aren’t wizards?”

Donny blinked. “Well- well no.” He licked his lips. “It’s not that you’re not allowed. It just doesn’t happen.”

Jordyn scoffed and looked at Seth. “You said that you were Sorted based on your strengths and skills.”

Seth wished Jordyn hadn’t brought him into it. “That- that’s what I thought,” he stuttered.

Jordyn turned on Donny again. “That makes more sense to me.”

If Donny didn’t know that Jordyn was angry before, he definitely did now. “I’m sorry, but it’s never happened before! That’s what our dad always says. Tell him, Aurora!”

Aurora raised her hands innocently. She didn’t want any part in this either.

Jordyn chose not to speak. Aurora was looking between Jordyn’s intense glare and Donny’s cluelessness. Seth watched the wall behind her.

“Besides, you don’t want to be a Slytherin anyway,” Donny tried. “They were all the bad guys in the Wizarding Wars.”

Jordyn kept his silence. The mood became even more strained. No one knew what to say. Aurora began stroking Niamh once again, and Seth returned his attention to the darkening countryside outside.

“I mean, I don’t have anything against Muggleborns,” Donny said. “Our great-great-grandmother is a Muggleborn anyway. I just meant to say that they can’t be Slytherins.”

Donny continued stumbling to retrace his steps, and Seth mentally chanted _shut up, shut up, shut up_ to him. Mercifully, there was a ruckus outside the compartment.

“It’s time to change!” Aurora announced in a relieved voice.

All of them shuffled around in their trunks, looking for their robes, and Aurora escaped the tension to find a more private place to get dressed. The boys changed into their robes without a word, and then sat again. Jordyn crossed his arms and stared out the window, apparently opting to prove Donny wrong by shunning him. Donny rolled his eyes and huffed at him.

Seth refused to look away from Donny’s owl. Seth liked owls. They didn’t make people angry. They didn’t put people in uncomfortable situations. All they did was deliver mail and prune their feathers. They were great.

The train began to slow before finally coming to a stop. The cause of Seth’s nerves changed from the events that had just happened to the events that were about to happen. He followed Jordyn off the train and into the chilly night air of a tiny platform, leaving his luggage and the twins behind.

The crowd pushed in one direction like an ocean wave. Seth and Jordyn began to follow the current before they heard a gruff voice.

“Firs’-years! Firs’-years over here! All the firs’-years, c’mon!” Seth looked at the figure towering over the multitude. The man was enormous and wild-looking, with a thick black beard and long, tangled hair. He was carrying a flickering lantern in one hand and waving the first-years over in the other.

They walked over to the man as he continued to call, joining the small mob of students already gathered around him.

“Any more firs’-years?” He looked around the mass, eyes glittering like beetles under his thick eyebrows. “No? Alrigh’, let’s get goin’.”

They followed the giant of a man down a steep, precarious path through the forest before it finally opened up to an enormous black lake. There was a gasp as the students surged forward: there, looking over the lake as if it was rising from its depths, was Hogwarts Castle. Its thousands of windows reflected in the lake, sparkling like stars.

The giant motioned behind him to dozens of little boats sitting in the water. “Four to a boat, no more ‘n no less! ‘Cept me, o’ course,” he finished as he climbed into the nearest.

Seth nearly stepped into the boat with Donny and Aurora, but Jordyn was heading to another far away. Seth ran to catch up, leaving room for a scrawny blonde-haired boy and a pale girl with pitch black hair to take their places with the twins.

“Everyone here?” the man’s booming voice asked. “Right, let’s go. FORWARD!”

At his command, the boats began sailing across the lake. Seth scooted away from the boy that had climbed in beside him and peeked over the edge of his boat, looking down into the mirror-like water. It was so still that in the reflection he could see his own sandy hair peeping out from under his black hat and his grey eyes seeming to glow like moonlight. Then, he saw something big moving within the depths below. He pulled his head back into the boat, heart pounding.

They skimmed across the lake until they approached the cliff that the castle was perched on. Seth ducked just as their boat entered a broad opening in the rock face. They sailed deeper and deeper into the dark before reaching the end of the cave. Seth looked up at the torch-lined stairs cut out of the stone face, disappearing into the cave ceiling.

The giant disembarked from his boat and began motioning towards the steps, saying, “Alrigh’, let’s go.” They all gathered around the steps and followed the lamplight upwards, exiting from a hole at the foot of the castle. The man knocked thrice on the enormous wooden door.

Immediately, the door swung open, revealing a very small wizard in mossy green robes. He was beaming up at the students with a smile brighter than his white hair, looking genuinely pleased to see the students. He appeared especially small as he shook their gargantuan guide’s hand.

“Firs’-years, this is Professor Flitwick.”

Professor Flitwick waved at the students before saying in a high voice, “Thank you, Hagrid. Follow me, please, students.” And he turned, walking into the castle.

**Author's Note:**

> A Brief Explanation and Request from the Author
> 
> This story is the first installment of a seven-part series entitled "Dumbledore's Army Reborn." It is based in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, with every possible measure taken to ensure that it can coincide with all things that could be considered canon. You, the reader, will see many references not only to the original series, but also to other Wizarding World stories such as The Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
> 
> Dumbledore's Army Reborn is different than many "fanfiction" stories you will read because it follows a entirely new set of characters not mentioned in any canon sources. In other words, the canon characters such as Harry, Ron, and Hermione appear at several points throughout the series, but they fill important-but-supporting roles in the journey of this new cast of characters. Thus, it is much more like a stand-alone series than true "fanfiction", but must be treated as the latter due to copyright laws.
> 
> The author plans to use this chapter and perhaps others in order to test the popularity of such an idea in the eyes of Harry Potter fans before publishing the full (still unfinished) series. As such, this chapter and any following are a kind of "teaser" for that which is to come.
> 
> This being the case, the author requests that any who read this leave their feedback as if doing a peer review of an unfinished transcript, as that is what this is. Please explain what you liked and what you didn't, suggestions on how to improve it, and above all else, inaccuracies (that includes both canonical, as the author is imperfect, and linguistic, as he is also American but is writing many characters who hail from the UK).
> 
> This has been a long time in the making, and very much will continue to be. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.


End file.
